"I think there is merit in what he is saying but I personally disagree" - John Isner on Stefanos Tsitsipas' on-court coaching comments
John Isner believes the absence of on-court coaching is what separates tennis from other sports and makes it "cool."
Stefanos Tsitsipas recently provided a controversial take on the topic of on-court coaching, sparking a debate in the tennis community.
The Greek was handed a warning for receiving coaching during his quarterfinal defeat to Filip Krajinovic at the 2021 Hamburg European Open, following which he took to Twitter to express his disagreement with tennis' ban on the practice.
In the wake of Tsitsipas' comments, a host of fans, journalists and players, including Nick Kyrgios, offered their opinion on the topic.
American John Isner has now become the latest to weigh in on the matter. Isner said he was not a big fan of the idea of on-court coaching, despite having played at college level, where coaches relay instructions to their charges after every point.
"I think there is merit in what he (Stefanos Tsitsipas) is saying but I personally disagree with that," Isner said in a press conference in Los Cabos. "And this is coming from someone who played four years of college and we had coaching every single point during our match.
"What I think is cool about tennis is you don’t have coaching and it’s a good differentiating factor from the other sports going one on one trying to figure it out by yourself which I think is unique," he added. "So I don’t personally love the idea."
I think it's important to talk the media, but I am not going to judge Naomi Osaka: John Isner
During the course of his press conference, Isner also spoke about Naomi Osaka's controversial decision to boycott the press at Roland Garros. The American said talking to the media is an important part of the job, but in the same breath pointed out that it is not his place to judge the Japanese.
"I think it’s important to talk to the media and to give back as much as possible and I don’t believe the media is our enemy but at the same time you have to respect everyone’s opinion," Isner said.
"I certainly don’t know what Naomi is going through and I am not going to judge at all, she’s a megastar and it’s not my right to agree or disagree," he added.
The backlash caused by Osaka's decision to boycott media interactions in Paris eventually led her to withdraw from the Major altogether. The 23-year-old also pulled out of Wimbledon, but will return to competitive action at the upcoming Tokyo Olympics.